AQUATECTURE WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM
South African born designer Shaakira Jassat has always been fascinated by water as a material in her projects . However , her interest shifted focus since the major drought in her native country in 2018 . This inspired Jassat to rethink how we manage and experience water in our urban environment .
Jassat ’ s background in the architectural field provided the foundation for Aquatecture , a panel designed to harvest water . It can be installed as a façade panel on buildings , making water harvesting an integrated building feature . It can be also used as a freestanding element in landscapes , creating water-harvesting stations in various nodes throughout cities .
Whilst traditional architecture requires water to be kept out and away from a building , Jassat envisioned buildings that could harvest and sustain their own water needs . The Aquatecture Water Harvesting System is designed to collect falling rainwater as it trickles over the open punctures of the panel . The water is collected and transported down to a collection tank from where it can be pumped back into the building ’ s grey water system . Hereby , a traditional practice like water harvesting acquires a compact fit in the urban aesthetic .
The project is now piloted at the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town as well as the Netherlands . Jassat , the founder of a design company
Studio Sway , is currently based in the Netherlands . She works together with local student teams from Engineers Without Borders at the University of Cape Town during the development phase of the Cape Town pilot . The research primarily consists of on site rainfall observations , weather data monitoring and harvested data analysis . The collaboration is anything but static , as Jassat prefers to leave space for students to cocreate the goals and approach and helps achieve a balance between the product validation as well as enriching students and professionals between South Africa and the Netherlands with the multiple themes the project touches upon .
Contact info @ studio-sway . com or follow @ studio _ sway on Instagram for the latest developments .
SAFETY CONCERNS IN SA BUILDING INDUSTRY
Statistics released by the Federated Employers Mutual Assurance Company ( FEM ) show an alarming number of injuries in the construction industry .
In line with the high injury statistics , FEM has launched a campaign to raise awareness of construction site injuries and get the industry onboard and committed to reducing the unacceptably high number of accidents . The campaign is branded as ‘ ZERO Is No Accident ’.
On average , 36 people are injured on construction sites daily . In total , for the period 2015 to 2021 , there were 54,964 injuries requiring medical attention . Two of the major types of injuries sustained on construction sites were ’ falling to different levels ’ and ‘ struck by ’. These are standard statistical reporting categories used to record and report incidents both nationally and internationally .
Over the 2015 to 2021 period , extracted as of March 2022 , of the 54,964 injuries that required medical attention , a total of 5,842 ‘ falling to different levels ’ cases were recorded , and 18,165 ‘ struck by ’ cases , accounting for 44 % of all accidents and 35 % of fatal accidents .
According to the statistics , in addition to the human impact and the operational impact from a business perspective , each accident on average cost R51,494 of workmen compensation benefits . The accident cause with the highest average cost was ‘ contact with electric current ’ at R185,000 per injury average .
“ We firmly believe that every accident is preventable , and that a construction industry with zero accidents is achievable ,” explained FEM CEO , Ndivhuwo Manyonga . “ The figures relate
only to employers who are insured by FEM , we estimate that the FEM policyholders employ around 50 % of the formal workforce within construction . The actual number of accidents across the entire industry is higher than what is reported to FEM considering that injuries are also likely to occur in the informal construction sector ,” she added .
FEM says the campaign will run for 12 months and will include through-the-line marketing activities , all aimed at raising awareness on the risks of poor H & S compliance in the industry and the impact on employees and construction workers . The campaign initiative will culminate in an educational road show that will reach industry employees on the ground and aim to foster positive behavioural change .
News Watch 5